The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that the dealer had replaced the front passenger's side and driver's side door handles; however, after the repair, the front passenger's side door handle fractured. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the front passenger's side door handle was replaced at the contact's expense. Additionally, the contact stated that the front and rear passenger's side doors, and the rear driver's side door failed to open from the outside while pulling the doors handles. The contact stated that the steering control buttons, and the cruise control mode had become inoperable. The air bag warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle hesitated to respond. The contact also stated that while shifting into park (P), the vehicle made an abnormal clunking sound and the gear shifter moved beyond the park (P) position. The contact stated that the failure occurred intermittently. The contact stated that the interior lights of the vehicle failed to turn off. The ABS, TPMS, traction control, check engine, air bag warning lights, and other unknown warning lights were illuminated. Additionally, the contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
2011 Kia Sorento: hesitation when accelerating
26 of the 1,520 complaints about the 2011 Kia Sorento describe hesitation when accelerating.
- owner complaints
- 26
- of this car's complaints
- 2%
- typical mileage
- 17,000
- recalls
- 2
Hesitation when accelerating by model year
What owners say
The contact owns a 2011 KIA Sorento. The contact stated that at first, the vehicle would seem as though it would hesitate or choke before acceleration after being idle. Now, while sitting idle the vehicle would suddenly stall. The contact stated that at first, they had to wait approximately 5 minutes however, now about 10 minutes before they are able to restart the vehicle and function as expected. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact had not taken the vehicle to the dealer. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 250,200.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 kia sorento. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated while driving. When the rpms decreased, the vehicle lost power, but did not fully decelerate. Afterwards, the vehicle reset itself. The contact drove the vehicle to a bmw mechanic who test drove the vehicle for a few days, but could not replicate the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer and dealer were not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 183,000.
When driving between 35-45 MPH the tachometer will drop to 0 and the sorento will lunge or buck, hesitate and will not respond to acceleration. The engine light flashes and sometimes stays on. One time I accelerated to pass, it responded but stopped midway thru the pass, decelled back to 20 MPH. I could not complete my pass and had to fall back behind the slower vehicle. I understand there is a voluntary service campaign by kia # sc106 but no dealership acknowledges it. There is 130,000 miles on the vehicle.
I bought the sorento used 2 months ago,it has 76,000 miles on it. Has driven fine up until now. It seems to struggle going up hills, no power, at random times which are more frequent now it hesitates like it wants to stall , then jerks and then goes back to driving fine. It seems to have this issue around 40-50 miles per hour. I brought it to be looked at and they say there is nothing wrong with the transmission. Feeling very frustrated , this is a safety issue!
While driving on the highway, the car suddenly jumps forwards and I feels like someone hit me from behind. The same thing happens while rolling down a hill or slowing down with or without applying the breaks. It feels like it wants to shift and something is holding it back for a fraction of a second. On sports mode, when manually shifting from 2 to 3 I can experience the same response. On gear 5 sports mode, you feel the sudden jerk. The problem seemed to be more significant when the engine is colder. I noticed the hesitation lasted longer before the jerk in the winter. I have been to many mechanic shops and they tell me the car is shifting fine and that they aren't to fully replicate the problem. I hope this adds to the millions of complaints and gets kia to do something. This problem has been persistent for over a year now.
The car has a no-star condition, uneven engagement when shifting gears. Whenever driving and if I want to suddently speed to avoid an object or to adjust to traffic speeds the car hesitates for a second or two. I almost crash today due to this problem, putting at risk my whole family... I believe there a some recalls on similar vehicles with this problem but my VIN is not on the list yet
For over a year now and happening more frequently, almost every day, when accelerating at 35-40 MPH there is a hesitation and then a jerk in the transmission. Also, when foot is taken off the accelerator it feels like the car is going to die. This happens when driving in the city and the highways. I told the dealer every time I went in for a oil change. Informed dealer last week and I was told I still had time (warranty).
In august 2010 there was a recall to reroute the wiring harness for the starter and was supposedly corrected. Three weeks ago I was coming down a mountain in the vehicle (2011 kia sorento) and I noticed a little hesitation. When I stopped the vehicle, it would not start again. I had it towed to the local kia dealer and they advised that the fuse panel had been shorted out and was defective. They said that kia would provide the fuse panel if I would pay the cost of the labor. I reluctantly agreed. When I picked up the vehicle, they stated they had to put a "salvaged starter" on the vehicle to get it to start. I again reluctantly agreed because I didn't have money for a new starter($500). When I checked my past repair ticket I noticed that kia and the dealer supposedly rerouted the starter wiring harness on a recall. After checking with other technicians, they advised that if the wiring harness was not installed correctly, it could have shorted out the starter and fuse panel and possibly could cause the vehicle to suddenly loose power even while driving. I'm afraid to drive the vehicle now; fearful that it will loose power while in operation causing an accident and possibly loss of life.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 kia sorento. While driving approximately 45 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed and hesitated to stop the vehicle. The contact mentioned that the rear brakes failed to respond; however, the front brakes functioned properly. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the rear sway bar ran a hole in the brake line and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 83,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 kia sorento. Upon switching gears from reverse to drive, there was hesitation from the driveshaft before the vehicle would move forward. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 31,430.
When the sorento reaches a speed above 60 it hesitates before abruptly jumping into the next gear, causing the entire vehicle and all passengers to jerk forward. The jumping of the gear is so forceful that it sounds as if the engine is about to fall out of the vehicle each time it's placed in gear.
Service bulletins that may apply
- Transmission fluid application guide
- This bulletin provides information relating to the correct transmission fluid type and fill quantity...
- Pitstop: AWD system concern due to tire circumference
- Transmission fluid application guide
- - Transmission fluid application guide
- TSB - driveshaft serviceability
- 6-SPD. a/t adaptive value reset /relearn
- 6 spd a/t solenoid replacement multiple dtcs
Related recalls
Power train: automatic transmission
- What is wrong
- Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain model year 2011-2013 Kia Sorento vehicles manufactured October 19, 2009, to January 31, 2013. In the affected vehicles, if excessive force is applied to the gear shift lever, the brake-shift interlock mechanism may chip or crack allowing the transmission being able to be shifted out of "Park" without the brakes being depressed. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 114, "Theft Protection."
- Risk
- Without requiring the brake to be pressed, the vehicle may be unintentionally shifted out of Park, allowing it to roll, which may result in a crash.
- Remedy
- Kia will notify owners, and dealers will replace the brake-shift interlock mechanism, free of charge. The recall began on November 9, 2015. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1‑800‑333‑4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC124.
Recall number 15V626000 · Recall details
Power train: driveline: driveshaft
- What is wrong
- Kia is recalling certain model year 2011 sorento 2wd vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions and 2.4l engines manufactured from the start of production through may 22, 2010. The intermediate shaft may suffer from noise and excessive wear due to a misalignment of the intermediate shaft with the right side output gear. Continuing to drive the vehicle in this condition leads to the development of a whirring/whining noise and can eventually cause damage to the automatic transmission.
- Risk
- Damage to the transmission may cause loss of motive power, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the right side output gear and intermediate shaft free of charge. The safety recall is expected to begin during may 2011. Owners may contact kia at 1‑800‑333‑4542.
Recall number 11V258000 · Recall details
Questions about the 2011 Kia Sorento hesitation
Is hesitation when accelerating a common problem on the 2011 Kia Sorento?
26 of 1,520 owner complaints about the 2011 Kia Sorento (2%) mention hesitation when accelerating. The model year with the most reports is 2019.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2011 Kia Sorento?
There are 2 recalls and 18 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2011 Kia Sorento
Door locks 233Airbag light 135Check engine light 102Stalling 100Headlights 98Fire or smoke 73Jerking 66Engine failure 57Loss of power 49Knocking 46Won't shift 43ABS 40Won't start 35Transmission failure 32Adaptive cruise 31Harsh shifting 31Key fob 27Grinding brakes 26Pulling 26Sunroof shattered 24Warning lights 18Sudden acceleration 16No deployment 15Whining noise 15Slipping 12Power steering loss 10Backup camera 9Ball joint 9Brake failure 8Oil consumption 8Overheating 8Seat belt 7Coil spring 6
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